The Nets are following the rest of the league toward position-less basketball

BROOKLYN — With D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin in the back court and a wealth of forwards to be integrated up front, the Nets are attempting to usher in an era of position-less basketball. That would put them stride for stride with other teams hoping to catch the Warriors as the trend-setters for the rest of the league.

“Listen, I hope we saw the beginnings of it last season,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said during a press conference at the HSS Training Center on Tuesday. “It’s a system based on ball movement and player movement. I like the process that we put in place. The formation of our offense changes depending on how we come up the court, so it’s important we have versatile players.

“I think that that carried over to the defensive end,” he continued. “It’s the same type of thing. You have to be able to guard multiple positions. I think we’re starting to form a group that can do that. That’s part of my excitement this year is that we’ve added more players like that.”

This isn’t anything new. It started down the stretch last season when Atkinson inserted Caris LeVert and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson as the starting forwards in tandem with Lin’s return from injury. LeVert jumpstarted the offense as a capable ball-handler and play-maker, while Jefferson’s ability to defend multiple positions helped transform what the Nets were able to do on the other end.

As a result, Brooklyn, which finished with a 20-62 record, went 11-13 in the last 24 games and became a top-seven team in defensive efficiency in the last month of the regular season.

They lost Brook Lopez, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, but added Russell and Timofey Mozgov. Brooklyn made deals for DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe. Now, they believe they have the depth to improve on one of the NBA’s least efficient offenses last season.

“I’m confident that with the talent we brought in and what we have left over, you’re gonna see some improvement on both ends of the court,” Atkinson said.

Brooklyn is expecting improvement but they’re hedging on playoff expectations. They love that the players have confidence, but for the front office, the thought process is different. Instead, the Nets want to see the incremental progress needed to shift this thing from yearly cellar-dweller to perennial playoff contender.

Atkinson expects Lin and Russell to share the point guard spot similar to how Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum do in Portland. Between Carroll, Crabbe, LeVert, and Hollis-Jefferson, the Nets have enough wings to mix things up on both ends.

Brooklyn sees the Warriors, Bucks, Trail Blazers, and other teams that have been successful playing selfless basketball. The Nets won’t copy them, but they have their antennas up, stealing and learning from those who have done it already.

It’s a long road, but in remaining patient, Brookyln hopes it can slowly turn things around.

“My gut is I feel the momentum of this organization and where we’re going,” Atkinson said. “I feel really good about it.”